


You'll put us in an early grave

by BilletDoux



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 08:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8095456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BilletDoux/pseuds/BilletDoux
Summary: Hiding injuries from Bones is never a good idea.





	

**Author's Note:**

> As always, Nat is my beta-reader, editor, and my best friend. She also got me into Star Trek because she loves to see me suffer.

Jim’s gotten use to hiding injuries. He's gotten pretty good at it. He hides the small ones, if nothing else; he knows Bones doesn't need the extra stress of dealing with that. Certain ones he can take care of himself.

He comes into the med bay after what was supposed to be a simple organism-gathering expedition on a supposedly uninhabited planet turned into a messy scuffle with an indigenous population. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Tuesday, Jim tries to joke, but his bleeding nose and the cut above his eye gets him sent to Bones anyway.

Jim assures him that he's okay when Bones notices his shallow breathing.

“I just got the wind knocked out of me,” he tries.

“Captain, I'm asking you as your chief medical officer to let me give you a thorough evaluation.”

“And I'm telling you, Bones, as your Captain: let me get back to work.” 

Bones grabs Jim’s arm before he can jump off of the exam table. He leans in so only Jim can hear him.

“Now I'm asking you, as your _boyfriend_ , let me _check you_.” 

“And I'm telling you, as _your_ boyfriend, I'm _fine_ ,” Jim says. He gives Bones a smile that isn't reciprocated, and Bones lets go of his arm. Jim slides from the table and tries to take a deep breath, still feeling a pain in his ribcage. 

“I'll see you after my shift,” Jim says. He hooks his pinky with Bones’s momentarily and is happy when Bones does the same. 

Jim tries again and again to take a breath without pain while sitting in the bridge but shifts in his chair uncomfortably. The pain isn't crippling, but it's present. Jim thinks he’ll ask Bones for a couple of pain relievers later, blame the migraines. 

It isn't more than roughly fifteen minutes before Bones' voice comes stern over the intercom. 

“Captain Kirk, you are requested in the med bay.” 

Jim has his thumb pressed over the receiver, but he doesn't speak at first. 

“ _Now_ , Captain,” Bones says. “McCoy out.” He cuts out, and Jim is left without a word in edgewise. 

He throws Spock a glance, hoping he’d be able to do anything. Spock raises his eyebrows in return, as if to say _“I don't know what you expect me to do here, Captain. Dr. McCoy sounds angry with you, and I suggest you go see him before it escalates.”_

Or _something_ like that. 

Jim sighs, wobbles to his feet, and gets to the lift while managing to limp only once. 

Jim hobbles into the empty medical bay and gives Bones a smile. The look on Bones' face could eat Jim’s pathetic little grin; it vaguely reminds him of a black hole. 

“Take off your shirt and get on the table,” Bones says, looking back at whatever he was doing before. 

“Isn't it _your_ rule that we’re never allowed to do it in med bay?” 

Bones is fiddling with some type of machine and doesn't respond to Jim’s joke. Jim cautiously pulls his shirt over his head. His chest hurts like hell, but he hopes Bones won't find anything. 

Bones watches his half-hearted attempt at climbing onto the raised exam table before taking pity on him and lowering it a little. 

“‘I'm fine, Bones, just got the wind knocked out of me!’” Bones mocks, bringing a stethoscope-like instrument to Jim’s rib cage. Jim flinches at the feeling of cold metal against his bare skin. 

“A couple bruised ribs,” Bones says. While he still looks sufficiently pissed, Jim senses the relief Bones must've felt. 

“That all? I got worse a few months ago when that Orion woman found out that I slept with her sister,” he jokes, giving a weak little laugh. 

Bones isn't laughing. He turns back around and looks as though he's writing something down in his notes. 

“So, what, you gonna kiss it better for me doc-” 

“Goddammit Jim, this is serious!” 

The smile on Jim’s face dies, and Bones pivots back on his heel. 

“Do y’know what could've happened if they were broken, Jim? And you decided not to let me know? At the very least, little fractured pieces of your bone could have fucked up any major organs in your chest, at the worst it could have pierced something - like your lung - and _killed_ you.” 

Jim’s lucky that they're alone, because they would have been definitely been attracting looks by this point. 

"Why do you do this to me? You want to put us both in an early grave?” 

“Len.” 

“You want to keep acting like you're invincible, Jim, but you're not! It is my job to make sure you stay alive up here, and I can't…” Bones stops, trails off into a silence that fills the whole room like noxious gas. 

“I can't lose you _again_.” 

Jim’s guilt washes over him and he reactively grabs Bones' hand. He looks up into dark hazel eyes that are doing their best to blink away any tears that may or may not make an appearance. 

Jim knows if Bones were a bit less sober, or they were in the privacy of their own quarters, Bones would take Jim into his arms and kiss him. He would pet Jim’s hair and whisper into the side of his neck: _“Because you're all I have left.”_

“I'm sorry, it was reckless.” 

“Damn right it was.” 

They're silent for a beat, and Jim entwines their fingers and rubs his thumb over Bones’. 

“I'm sorry,” he says again. “I hate making you worry about me.” 

“I know,” Bones says. 

Jim, for all intents and purposes, has gotten good at “reading between the lines” when it comes to Bones. _“I know”_ probably means _“I forgive you and understand why you did it.”_

“I won't do it anymore.” 

“Yeah, you will.” 

The two of them smile at one another. 

“I'll do it way less.” 

“Let's shoot for a little less, Captain. Baby steps,” Bones pulls away to grab a bottle of painkillers, a little more high dose than usual. 

“Take a couple of these and take the rest of the day off,” Bones tells him. “Let Spock fill in for you.” 

“It was him, right? He told you?” Jim asks, dumping a couple of the pain pills out into his palm and swallowing them dry. Bones makes a face at the action before responding. 

“He expressed concern for your well being, said you were breathing strange.” Bones shrugs. “If he's good for anything, he doesn't let you get away with dumb shit.” 

Bones helps Jim back off the table. 

“Visit me after your shift is over?” Jim asks. 

“I'm still not exactly happy with you, you know.” 

“What if I need something, though? Is a doctor really going to let his sick and injured patient move about all by himself?” Jim asks when he's at his feet. 

“You kiddin’ me?” 

“I'm hurt, doc.” 

Bones sighs and rolls his eyes. 

“I hate you, asshole.” 

And Jim smiles, because he knows Bones is really saying _“I love you, asshole.”_

The word asshole was deliberate. 

“I know you do.” 


End file.
